are you tracking your physical factors?
Start optimizing your physical factors to make your medication more effective and control your ADHD symptoms
ADHD friendly TLDR: Want to control your symptoms? Start optimising your Sleep, Exercise and Diet. And start meditating.
This post is a bit bulkier than the usual contents of the newsletter. But it’ll be a good teaser for the type of information you can expect. Future posts are going to dive deep into the science behind each of these factors.
Physical Factors and ADHD
I use the acronym MEDS to memorize the physical factors I need to control. I have the acronym (among others) in big letters as my desktop background. It reminds me to take my medication, and it stands for Meditation, Exercise, Diet, and Sleep.
Your physical factors are important for controlling your ADHD symptoms. I see a 1.5-2x difference in productivity if I have them in check. I log my productive hours, so that figure is real.
Finally, in order of importance, the physical factors you should track:
SLEEP
Current sleep research recommends 8-10 hours for teens and 7-8 hours for adults.
Recent research has shown that sleep regularity can also be quite important. If my sleep time varies too much, I see increases in brain fog and reductions in executive control.
You can improve the quality of your REM sleep by reducing screen usage and exposure to blue light. It’s good to avoid screens 30 minutes before bed, but I rarely do this - it’s pretty difficult. Instead, I use blue light filters on all my devices.
Tip: Keep your bedtime consistent and track the quality of your sleep.
Use an alarm app that has bedtime notifications and sleep tracking, I’m currently using “Sleep As” on Android.
EXERCISE
Regular exercise has had the largest positive impact on my symptoms. It helps ADHD people more than any other disorder in psychiatry. Yet, few ADHD’ers actively exercise.
Like most people, I don’t like exercising. I hated it and I avoided it for a long time. Now I’m at a stage where it feels unnatural if I’m not starting my workout at 5:30 PM. Your priority should be building a habit. And start with the bare minimum that maximizes the positive impact on your brain.
Research shows that the recommended amount is about 120-150 minutes per week of moderate-high intensity exercise. Aerobic exercise is what works best for gains on focus and energy. I’ve been doing this 30-minute HIIT routine, 4-5 times a week.
Research has shown that martial arts can also be an effective form of exercise for kids. I wasn’t able to find similar research for adults, but, anecdotal evidence from friends tells me that it’s excellent. I plan on starting BJJ sometime this year (we’ll see)…
Tip: Aerobic exercise for 30-minutes, 4-5 times a week will increase your energy levels, executive functions and general cognition.
Focus on building a habit, it’s okay to start with 5 minutes a day.
DIET
A lot of research supports eating high-protein for breakfast and lunch. I've found that it's especially important when you have ADHD. I try to get 20g-30g of protein in for breakfast.
Nutrition research shows that sugars/carbs can trigger drowsiness. My experiences back this up. I avoid sugar and carbs before dinner, otherwise, I’ll get tired before 5 PM. But I do eat a decent amount of carbs for dinner because it helps with recovery after exercise.
For supplements, I take Vitamin D, Omega-3, and sometimes Choline. Research has shown that people with ADHD are more likely to be Omega-3 deficient. Taking Omega-3 supplements can also help with the absorption of methylphenidate.
We’ll dive deep into the science behind nutrition, supplements, and their interaction with ADHD in a later post.
Tip: A high-protein and low-carb breakfast can increase the effectiveness of some medications (e.g. Ritalin SR).
Track the quality of your diet through an app like MyFitnessPal
MEDITATION
It's annoying to build this habit, especially with ADHD. When you start you’ll find that your mind wanders a lot. But I’ve found that it’s worth sticking to this habit.
A lot of people with ADHD find meditation difficult. I try to do difficult tasks like this the moment I feel my medication kicking in, it really helps build that habit. Though I still drop off my streak quite a bit (like right now).
Tip: Meditation can help you clear your mind before you get started on work.
Try out the free lessons on an app like Headspace to see how great it can be.
Stay tuned for the next few posts where I’ll break these factors down, and give you actionable techniques. The changes won’t be immediate, you’ll have to implement these tips for at least a couple of weeks. But once you’ve got all these in check, you’ll notice day and night benefits.
Also, check out my twitter: @beat_adhd